Well they took you from your mother's womb and put you in a schoolTold you how to run your life by following the rulesTold you not to pick your nose or disrespect the queenScrub your teeth three times a day keep mind and body cleanSave up all your pocket money, nothing is for freeAnd you'd better trust your parents 'cause there's no one else you seeAnd then they send you off each day remember what you're told"You may think you don't need teaching but you'll need it when you're old"

And if you're too intelligent they'll cut you down to sizeThey'll praise you til you're happy then they'll fill you full of lies'Cause intelligence is threatening and genius is sinIf you could ever see through them they know they'd never win

So they channel your ability into the right directionIf you're good enough and rich enough you can be a politicianOn the other hand if your too thick they'll tell you that you're lazyThey'll put you down and wind you up until it drives you crazy

They'll say you ought to learn a trade to help you in your lifeSuccess is written in three parts: A job, a house, a wifeThey'll say that school prepares you for the awesome world outsideWell it certainly gives you bigotry and patriotic pride

Racism, sexism teacher to classFrom school to work remains the same, are you white and middle class?

You'll learn that bad men dress in black and good men dress in whiteAnd the pamphlets in the playground say that's rightAnd that girls were made for housework and boys were made to fightAnd the naughty pictures on page 3 make everything alright

And so from school to the outside world these morals you will takeAnd unless you can reject them you'll have your mind at stake

They'll give you a decision when you get to 18, tooThe right to vote for someone else who says he cares for youBut the only thing he cares about is getting to the topBy conning you with empty words that promise you a lotBut the end result is slavery to a false set of idealsYou'll be tempted to believe them 'cause they'll seem so very realThe slavery of attitudes that make you keep in lineSubconsciously devoted to the morals of our time

And when you end up on the dole which you very likely willThey'll offer you a brand new trade: Learning how to kill

Why don't you join the army? Be a man and not a foolThere's someone else to think for you just like there was at school

They'll promise you absolution from the murders you'll commitIn the name of god and country they can get away with itThey fill you full of orders and promise you rewardsLike busting up your family by sending you abroadA holiday in Germany or Iceland or Hong KongMaking money being useless well it seems it can't go wrongBut then it's off to Northern Ireland where you'll practice what they preachedYou'll shoot to keep yourself alive and kill to keep the peaceAnd then it won't be so much fun as you hear the wounded crying'cause before they couldn't speak English and you didn't know what they were sayingBut when the children call you "Bastard" it will make you think againWhen you cannot tell the difference between animals and men

Animals don't wear uniforms but they kill as much as youBut the army kills for money and animals kill for foodIt's the basest degradation in the name of what is rightBecome something you never were and regret it til you die

'cause your father will tell you "Sonny, you must do as you are told"And you'll say the same thing to your kids when you're 32 years oldAnd unless you can react against the brainwash from the startYour government will rule your mind and your mind will rule your heartYou'll conform to every social law and be the system's slaveFrom birth to school to work to death, from the cradle to the grave